This was an assignment I received for my literature class. I attended the play, "The Caretaker" and was required to write a play review.
Clarke University Theater Presentation of "The Caretaker"
On November 18, 2011, Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker" was brought to Clarke University's campus by director Carol Blitgen and the extraordinary cast members of Clarke University's Theatre Department. This dramatic piece was not a typical production for Clarke's Theatre Department; however the cast accepted the challenge and knocked it out of the park. I believe this production was proved a huge success as a result of the realistic design and sound and the convincing characters.
There were three characters in Clarke University's presentation of "The Caretaker" -two brothers, Aston (Austin Rea) and Mick (Gage Steenhagen), and a bum Davies (Joe Klinebriel). There was one set-the shabby, dimly lit, junk-filled room in a West London house. The house was owned by Mick and inhabited by Aston. One evening, Aston saved Davies from a pub-room brawl and brought him home. He offered him a cot for the night. As the play proceeded, he let him stay there, gave him money, clothes and shoes, and offered him a job as caretaker of his house. However, things did not turn out as planned.
Aston was wary of people due to the electro-shock treatment he was given in his younger years. Like the other two characters, he was a dreamer. All Aston wanted to do was build his shed - a workshop- in the garden and everything would have been fine. But the spectators knew that he was never going to get it finished, just as they knew that Davies was never going to get down to Sidcup to get his references and other personal documents needed to reclaim his life. In addition, Mick was unlikely to convert the flat into a stylish penthouse. All of the characters in the play were failures, but managed to make it through life.
This impressive performance of "The Caretaker" employed a mixture of tones; both tragic and comic to communicate one unifying theme-deception. Throughout the course of the play the characters deceived one another as well as themselves. Davies used a fabricated name and had convinced himself that he was going to resolve his problems relating to his lack of identity papers, even though he appeared to be too lazy to take the responsibility for his own actions and blamed his failure to act on everyone else but himself. Aston believed that his dream of building a shed would eventually be fulfilled, despite his mental disability. Mick thought that his ambitions for a successful career would outweigh his responsibility to care for his mentally-damaged brother. In the end, all three men had deceived themselves. .
In this version of "The Caretaker," Joe Klinebriel was a fox-like Davies who thought he was cunning and sly, but was not satisfactory in recognizing which brother it was best to side with. Klinebriel intertwined a number of facets into the superb performance. For instance, he poked and pointed at the other two characters- from a safe distance-and used the same pointing action as a means of emphasis and self-expression. Overall, Klinebriel effectively got under the skin and into the bones of Davies, which produced a compelling performance.
The brothers were both well-defined and distinctive. Austin Rea was the withdrawn Aston who had put his trust in the wrong people. But when he delivered his long soliloquy about being given electro-shock therapy, he nearly brought the audience to tears-not just because of his description, but in the manner he delivered it. This was a very moving passage in the play. On the other hand, Gage Steenhagen as the second brother, Mick, embodied violence. He convinced the audience that if they were to say something inappropriate, they would be on the wrong end of a raging inferno. But in the play it never got to that tone because the violence-apart from when Mick and Davies first meet-was controlled.
Several instances of lighting design and sound were also utilized throughout the performance that contributed to its overall success. For instance, lighting effectively divided the days and nights throughout the theatrical production. As the play proceeded, lighting effects were also used when Aston delivered his soliloquy, so the audience would be drawn to watch him. Sound was also needed to make this performance a success. For example, the dripping rain water from the leaky roof and the storm outside that prevented Davies from walking down to Sidcup to get his papers.
Overall, Clarke University's production of "The Caretaker," would deserve a four out of five star rating. This performance was superbly acted and produced. Joe Klinebriel, as Davies, gave a performance that made the audience catch their breath; and he was magnificently supported by Austin Rea, as Aston, and Gage Steenhagen, as Mick. Attending Clarke University's presentation of Harold Pinter's "The Caretaker," was a valuable experience that opened my eyes to the art of drama.
There were three characters in Clarke University's presentation of "The Caretaker" -two brothers, Aston (Austin Rea) and Mick (Gage Steenhagen), and a bum, Davies (Joe Klinebriel).
All of the characters in the play were failures, but managed to make it through life.---You did an excellent job in this paragraph, of explaining the plot and story line. You made it sound interesting and did not waste words.
This impressive performance of "The Caretaker" employed a mixture of tones; both tragic and comic, to communicate one unifying theme-deception.
...even though he appeared to be too lazy to take the responsibility for his own actions and blamed his failure to act on everyone else. but himself.
Mick thought that his ambitions for a successful career should outweigh his responsibility to care for his mentally-damaged brother.
Several instances of varying uses of lighting design and sound were also utilized throughout the performance, which contributed to its overall success.
This is very well written! Good luck in school and have fun.
:)
